Holy Trinity Church, Cowes

The waterfront location is what makes Holy Trinity Church worth a detour when you're staying around East Cowes. This Victorian-era church sits right where the Medina River meets the Solent, giving it views across the water that most parish churches can only dream of. Step inside and you'll find the sort of solid, no-nonsense Anglican interior you'd expect from the 19th century - decent stained glass, proper pews, and that particular smell of old wood and hymn books that either comforts or slightly oppresses you depending on your mood.

It's genuinely useful if you're camped at one of the nearby sites like Comforts Farm or Sunnycott, particularly on a Sunday morning when the light comes through properly. Even if you're not attending a service, the graveyard itself is worth a wander - the Solent breeze makes it feel less gloomy than most, and locals reckon it's peaceful. Families with older children will find twenty minutes here pleasant enough. Younger kids, though, won't be gripped.

The real value is combining it with a walk along the Cowes seafront itself. The church anchors one end of town nicely, and from there you can amble up to the Medina without much fuss. Free to enter, naturally. No gimmicks, no gift shop - just a working parish church that happens to have rather better views than average. If you're staying at Parkdean Resorts Thorness Bay or any of the holiday parks dotted around the area, you could do worse than spending an hour here on a clear afternoon.